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| NETWORKING
IN LOVE
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“I thank my God
every time I remember you,
constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayer for
all of you”.
Phil 1: 3-4 |
| Collaborators
of Paul |
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No other writing in the New Testament abounds with so
many names of concrete persons – friends, supporters
and collaborators in the mission – than the Letters
of Paul.
They are unique body of writings that break away from
contemporary Greco-Roman epistolary conventions by their
personal touch and intimate tone, which do not, however,
diminish the impact of their writer’s apostolic
authority.
Paul’s Letters vividly capture and convey the
sentiments of the apostle toward his mission partners
and benefactors – his overflowing gratitude, his
heartfelt concern for their sanctification and his sincere
regard for them.
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| Collegiality |
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Collegiality is the mark of
Paul’s missionary method. Though he does not hesitate
to assume centre stage in any endeavour, Paul does not
selfishly lay claim to all he credits for the work accomplished.
It is clear to him who is responsible for the growth
of the plant and he understands the sense of detachment
that is demanded of the one who plants the seed and
the one who waters the sprout. Fr both are servants
and only God is the Master and owner of the field.
"What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul?
Ministers through whom you became believers, just
as the Lord assigned each one. I planted, Apollos
watered, but God caused the growth.
Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one
who waters is anything, but only God, who causes
the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters
are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion
to his labour.
For we are God's co-workers; you are God's field,
God's building". (1 Cor 3:5-9)
Paul”
Builder of Bridges
In welcoming those who wish to partake of the burdens
of the mission, Paul makes no distinction based on race,
class and gender. This marks his as a true revolutionary,
a breaker of barriers and a builder of bridges.
If the present generation has evolved the concept of
“networking” to express the establishment
of linkages within and among the various dimensions
of life and society, we should be aware that Paul had
already been operating along this line even in the first
century.
If today we talk of networking, especially
on the level of technology, Paul has, in many ways,
superseded us, for he was networking on the level of
love. His concept of networking in love could not have
been expressed more concretely than through his analogy
of the body:
For as in one body we have many parts, and all the
parts do not have the same function, so we, though
many, are one body in Christ 3 and individually parts
of one another." (Rom 12:4-45)
From this should proceed an harmonious
working relationship that does not only appreciate differences
but sees them as laying the groundwork for complementary
action and the pooling
of gifts.
Collaborative
ministry
Paul’s line up of mission partners, collaborators
and supporters shows a daring break of existing conventions.
He involved in his mission both Jews and Greeks, who
were known to be hostile to one another.
He welcomed the contribution of women, who at that time
did not assume any active role outside the home. Even
slaves, who had no identity of their own apart from
that of their masters, were welcomed as co-workers.
In so doing, Paul extended the various crosscurrents
of national, social and gender cooperation in his day
and opened to all the opportunity to participate in
the mission. These participants in the Pauline mission
defined Paul’s work as a “collaborative
ministry.”
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| Degree
of Participation |
The manner and degree of participation
in this ministry, as well as the title or designation
given to the co-workers varied. A number of co-workers
like Timothy, Titus and Tychicus,
accompanied Paul in his journeys and were occasionally
sent to teach and minister to his communities in his
absence.
Wealthy Christians supported Paul’s mission
as benefactors, offering their homes for use as house-churches
and hosting Paul during his sojourn in the locality.
Paul may have also tapped the help of his own relatives,
especially in charting the evangelisation of Thessalonica
and Berea. Names of co-senders of letter, such as
Silas, Sosthenes and Timothy, mentioned in eight of
the thirteen letters attributed to Paul, attest that
even his written correspondence was not an individual
enterprise. In fact, Paul was always assisted by a
secretary whose role varied from taking dictation
do being a co-author.
Networking, as a missionary strategy, testifies to
the very content of the Good News – that the
new life offered in Christ is a corporate existence
to be lived in communion with other believers.
From the book of Sr. Bernardita
Dianzon, FSP: Glimpses of Paul and His Message
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Click on the link below to download your required
document:
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| Paul
in his own words |
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Attitude
“Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than
yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests, but
(also) everyone for those of others.
Ph 2: 3-4
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| TO
GO DEEPER … |
resources |
PAUL
OF TARSUS
Pope Benedict XVI
|
| 2009
165pp R159.50 |
MEETING
SAINT PAUL WITH THE POPE
Wednesday Audiences during
the Pauline Jubilee Year
Pope Benedict
XVI
|
| 2009
135pp R110.00 |
UNDERSTANDING
PAUL AND HIS LETTERS
Vincent P. Branick
|
| 2009
440pp R279.50 |
MEETING
ST. PAUL TODAY
Understanding the Man, His
Mision, and His Message
Daniel J. Harrington,
SJ
|
| 2008
150pp R99.50 |
NOT
THAT MAN
Restoring St. Paul
's Reputation
Nicholas King, SJ
|
| 2009
253pp R220.00 |
THE
GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. PAUL
Meditations on His life
and Letters
Cardinal Carlo Maria
Martini, SJ
|
| 2008
128pp R115.00 |
A
STILL MORE
EXCELLENT WAY
How St. Paul points Us
to Jesus
Joseph Durepos
|
| 2008
118pp R95.00 |
PAUL,
THE PASTORAL EPISTLES, AND THE EARLY CHURCH
James W. Aageson
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| 2008 236pp R249.50 |
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www.annopaolino.org
(In English)
St.
Paul's Basilica
Thinking
Faith Series
Articles on St. Paul |
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